Ballymachugh 2-11
Drumalee 0-13

by Shane Corrigan
at Kingspan Breffni

Ballymachugh ended their agonising wait for a first ever junior football championship title by overcoming Drumalee this afternoon at Kingspan Breffni.

'Man of the Match' James Kiernan struck for 1-6 from full-forward as Stephen Baxter's men banished their ghosts from defeat on the very same stage 12 months ago and in 2014.

The Hughes built up a deserved five-point lead at half, with Kiernan and Richie Fitzsimons in fine shooting form, and when the former crashed in his side's first goal in the 35th minute the previous year's beaten finalists looked home and hosed.

Drumalee never threw in the towel though and had the gap closed to four with seven minutes left when James Smith's low rocket shot ensured a hungry Ballymachugh outfit's return to the intermediate ranks.

Hughs skipper Christopher Cooney orchestrated their opening score of this final, breaking past the 45-metre line to earn a free which James Kiernan slotted over on three minutes.

Drumalee had a chance to level and even take the lead in the ensuing three minutes but Cian Byrne sent both scoreable frees wide although he'd be on the mark with his third attempt - earned by John O'Connor inside.

A quick '45' from to O'Connor saw Byrne return the favour and send the St Felim's Park men into their first lead in the 10th minute, but Baxter's charges began to really get on top after that.

Two frees from Kiernan - the second awarded on advantage after Dillon Kiernan had ripped through a forced a low save from James Heffernan - had the Hughs back in the ascendency and although Kevin Donohoe squared things quickly, it'd be very much one-way traffic for the rest of the half.

Richie Fitzsimons's free made it 0-4 to 0-3 on the 20-minute mark and his first from open play was easy on the eye, curling between the posts with the outside of his left boot, putting his side into a lead they'd never surrender.

Liam Buchanan and fellow midfielder Smith were winning their battles around the centre and even when they weren't their Cavan town counterparts managed to get turned over in their own half forward line on too many occasions.

Keen to drive on their momentum, Ballymachugh finished out the half with points from Fitzsimons and Kiernan (free) that left it at 0-8 to 0-3 and Drumalee with it all to do shooting into the town end goal for the second-half.

Donohoe looked to give the trailers the best possible restart but his diagonal goal effort was disrupted at the critical moment, with the resultant free being popped by Eamonn Quinn.

It didn't take long for the Hughs to get back into their rhythm. They'd gain maximum profit thanks to a brilliant run by the powerful Padraig Galligan, who flicked into Kiernan's path at the second attempt and the big full-forward did the rest, sending the Ballymachugh contingent in an euphoric state.

To their credit, Drumalee recovered well from that hammer blow by lofting over points from Quinn (free) and their livewire inside O'Connor.

Fitzsimons got another from an acute angle in reply but Quinn cancelled it out prior to O'Connor and Byrne (free) raising white flag to outweigh another James Kiernan free.

Drumalee lost sweeper Philip McArdle to a black card in the meantime but they'd still managed to narrow to the margin to four with 10 minutes left in regulation.

It was back at seven three minutes later however, after Mark Kiernan's 40-metre effort dropped short, got spilled and James Smith was the quickest to bury in the loose ball which had the Hughs with one hand on the coveted Sean Leddy Cup.

Smith erased another from Byrne with two minutes to go and a straight red card for Buchanan in the very next minute saw the Hughs having to battle it out through seven minutes of injury-time with 14.

Drumalee also lost Andy Fallon to a second caution at the death and kicked the last three points of the game - two of them from Daragh Gaffney - but it was a goal they sorely required and it never came their way as Ballymachugh's defence remained resolute until the very last whistle.

Ballymachugh: Darragh Goldrick; Gary Kelly, Darragh Kiernan, Jamie Coyle; Christopher Cooney, Anthony Baxter, Dillon Kiernan; Liam Buchanan, James Smith (1-1); Mark Kiernan, Barry Kiernan, Alan Donohoe; Richie Fitzsimons (0-4, 2f), James Kiernan (1-6, 6f), Padraig Galligan. Subs: Ciaran Goldrick for R Fitzsimons (56mins), Finbarr Sheridan for J Smith (59), Brendan McLarney for A Donohoe (60), James Henry Fitzsimons for P Galligan (60).

Drumalee: James Heffernan; Daire Donoghue, Philip McArdle, Kevin Downey; Andy Fallon, Enda McCormick, Tommy Walsh; Leigh Dunne, Daragh Gaffney (0-2, 1f); Kevin Donohoe (0-1), Eamonn Quinn (0-3, 2f), Garry Malone; John O'Connor (0-3), Thomas O'Keefe, Cian Byrne (0-3, 2f). Subs: David O'Keefe for T Walsh (37mins), Sean O'Kane (0-1) for T O'Keefe (38), Ryan Loftus for K Downey (41), Peter McGinnity for P McArdle (46, BC).

Ref: James Clarke (Killinkere)

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